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ACOUSTIC BASS GUITAR-WHAT TO GET

M

mandopicker 7

Oct 25, 2009
6
0
#1
I'am going to get my grandson a bass for christmas,and i'am trying to figure what to get him for less the $300.00.I know nothing about bass, i play a mandolin.I know there differant scales,or fretless or not He play acoustic guitar now(5 years) he pretty good, any help would be:bassist: appreciated
 
#2
I'd take him to the local music store and let him try a few basses, acoustic and electric to see what he likes. He might just go electric, you never know. At that price range the acoustic basses are pretty low quality in my opinion. Buying used has worked for me. Good luck.
 
#3
I have an Ibanez AEB10E acoustic bass it plays nice but is not very load you have to use a pick to get any volume out it at all, i also purchased a Acoustic Brand AB50 amp to be heard it does sound great with it.
 
#8
baca1957 said:
I have an Ibanez AEB10E acoustic bass it plays nice but is not very load you have to use a pick to get any volume out it at all, i also purchased a Acoustic Brand AB50 amp to be heard it does sound great with it.
Click to expand...

I've owned about 15 from the dean to the $3,000 varieties.

They're all designed to be self practice OR amped with a band... this is not an issue isolated to your AEB10
 
#10
Here's my take. The ABG is a flawed concept from the beginning. The traditional double bass is just barely big enough to make low frequencies come out acoustically. The typical flat-top guitar isn't as loud as an arch-top guitar. Trying to make an ABG that really works as an acoustic instrument is going to require a very large body. In my experience the only two that ever had a chance of success were the original Guild B-50 and the Ernie Ball Earthwood. The only other thing that even came close was the Tacoma Thundercheif. I've never played the only other likely contender, the Taylor one.

All the others, including the Michael Kelly that I've played are so quiet that unless you're playing by yourself (or at most with a quite acoustic guitarist- maybe someone fingerpicking a Martin OM sized guitar) you're going to need an amp anyway. And most of them just don't sound very good amplified either. Add in the mechanical aspects, and if you're looking to buy a bass for your grandson to learn how to play bass, I think that for $300 you can get a much better instrument if you look at electrics.

John
 
#12
JTE said:
Here's my take. The ABG is a flawed concept from the beginning. The traditional double bass is just barely big enough to make low frequencies come out acoustically. The typical flat-top guitar isn't as loud as an arch-top guitar. Trying to make an ABG that really works as an acoustic instrument is going to require a very large body. In my experience the only two that ever had a chance of success were the original Guild B-50 and the Ernie Ball Earthwood. The only other thing that even came close was the Tacoma Thundercheif. I've never played the only other likely contender, the Taylor one.

All the others, including the Michael Kelly that I've played are so quiet that unless you're playing by yourself (or at most with a quite acoustic guitarist- maybe someone fingerpicking a Martin OM sized guitar) you're going to need an amp anyway. And most of them just don't sound very good amplified either. Add in the mechanical aspects, and if you're looking to buy a bass for your grandson to learn how to play bass, I think that for $300 you can get a much better instrument if you look at electrics.

John
Click to expand...

All of what you said is true. As far as my Michael Kelly, I play it in a Guitar Ensemble and it really sits well in that (the brightness of my steel strings tends to be loud enough, or at least blend enough, against the nylon strings). But if I'm playing with anybody who's playing a steel string guitar, I must play pretty hard to be heard.

If the original poster just wants his grandson to jam out on the low end while he picks away on a mandolin, I think any of the basses (the Ibanez, MK, or Dean) mentioned would probably do well. Or If his grandson just wants a bass to mess around on (it seems like he's more into acoustic instruments) it'll work in that instance too.

In the worst case scenario, the original poster could just get an inexpensive acoustic bass and then pick up a $99 Acoustic (brand) amp to add the extra "umph" if necessary. That's still within his price range, and if his grandson wants an electric, that's all the more reason for him to come back and post again and ask what he should get him :cool:.
 
#13
JTE said:
Here's my take. The ABG is a flawed concept from the beginning.
Click to expand...

I beg to differ. It's just that no manufacturer has had the balls to make it the right size, well except for Earnie Ball (pun not intended). The main reason that used Earthwoods are so ridiculously expensive is that they have a rep for actually working acoustically.

I have never played an Earthwood, but I own a Guitarron re-fitted with a 36" scale bass guitar neck (fantastic work by Michael Dolan). It holds its own against acoustic guitars with no problem.
 
#15
LowB-ing said:
I beg to differ. It's just that no manufacturer has had the balls to make it the right size, well except for Earnie Ball (pun not intended). The main reason that used Earthwoods are so ridiculously expensive is that they have a rep for actually working acoustically.

I have never played an Earthwood, but I own a Guitarron re-fitted with a 36" scale bass guitar neck (fantastic work by Michael Dolan). It holds its own against acoustic guitars with no problem.
Click to expand...

I HAVE played several Earthwoods, and several of the big Guilds going back to around 1977 or so). They work, but just barely. And none of the others do the job in my experience. I'd like to play something that does work because I love acoustic guitars. And there's an Ernie (no "a", BTW), Ball at the local good pawnshop that's pretty tempting, but I'm holding out for a Guild just beause of my 36 year long prejudice for Guild.

John
 
#16
I bought a Breedlove solo that's fairly loud for an ABG -- it's at least as loud as anything else I've tried, including the Thunderchief.

That said, if you son is just starting out, I'd get him a decent electric and a small amp. Any of Squier's Vintage Modified series basses would be a good start. An ABG is more of a specialty instrument than a "main" bass.
 
#17
JTE said:
Here's my take. The ABG is a flawed concept from the beginning. The traditional double bass is just barely big enough to make low frequencies come out acoustically. The typical flat-top guitar isn't as loud as an arch-top guitar. Trying to make an ABG that really works as an acoustic instrument is going to require a very large body. In my experience the only two that ever had a chance of success were the original Guild B-50 and the Ernie Ball Earthwood. The only other thing that even came close was the Tacoma Thundercheif. I've never played the only other likely contender, the Taylor one.

All the others, including the Michael Kelly that I've played are so quiet that unless you're playing by yourself (or at most with a quite acoustic guitarist- maybe someone fingerpicking a Martin OM sized guitar) you're going to need an amp anyway. And most of them just don't sound very good amplified either. Add in the mechanical aspects, and if you're looking to buy a bass for your grandson to learn how to play bass, I think that for $300 you can get a much better instrument if you look at electrics.

John
Click to expand...

This post hits the nail on the head, and bears repeating.
 
#18
michael kellys are nice to play but quiet especially the firefly and club...dragonflys arent too bad.

i had an Alvarez that fills a room nicely with sound only other ones other than that are the Takamine and Tacoma. if i had to buy an acoustic today on my budget id go Takamine. if cost were no issue id go tacoma
 

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